Hunters find casket in wildlife refuge; returned to grave

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Hunters in Mississippi found an intact casket in a wildlife refuge, and authorities returned it to its grave.

Adams County Coroner James Lee tells The Natchez Democrat (http://bit.ly/1Th5QZV ) that the casket apparently floated out of a family cemetery on the refuge during floods in January.

He says he was called Saturday to deal with the casket, found in the open at the St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge. He says it held the remains of someone who had been buried within the last six months.

Lee says he and the sheriff’s office identified the body, located the cemetery, notified the family, and returned the casket.

He says the main thing is that they were able to return it to the cemetery in a “in a dignified manner.”